Art oe refrigeration



Sept. 4, 1923.

A. c. STEWART ART OF REFRIGERATION Filed Oct. 30, 1920 INVENTOR.

www ATTQRN Y Patented Sept. 4, 1923.

UNITED STATES ALFRED C. STEWART, OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

i ART OF REFRIGERATION.

Application filed. October 30, 1920.

To all whom t may concern:

Bo it known th-at l, Atrium C. STEWART, a citizen of the United States, residing at Los Angeles, in the county of Los Angeles and State of California, have invented a new and useful lmprovei'nent in the Art of Refrigeration, of which the following is a specification.

rl`his invention relates to means for refrigcation of air, or other fluid medium, and the main object of the invention is to pro- 'f'fle a simple and effective method andin ans for this purpose in which the refrigerating action is obtained by forced eX- pansion of a liquid, as hereinafter set forth.

The accompanying` drawing illustrates an apparatus suitable for carrying out my invention, and referring thereto:

F 1 is a. vertical section of such an app aratus v Fig. 2 is a section on line 2--2 in Fig. 1.

The apparatus shown in the drawing comprises a casing 1, preferably circular in shape, and provided with inlet and outlet means 2 and 3 for conducting therethrough the air, or other medium, which` is to be Y igeratedg and a rotating device mounted said casing and provided with passage means for conducting the liquid there- 'through and for restraining the movement of said liquid, as hereinafter described, to effect a forced expansion thereof under centrifugal action due to the rotation of said device. Said rotary device may be mounted on a vertical shaft 5 supported in upper and lower bearings 6 and 7, said shaft being provided with an operating means, such as pulley 8, whereby it may be rotated at high speed. A passage 9 is provided in said shaft communicating with an inlet 10 for water, or other liquid, and also communicating with passages 11 in a cross-head 12 on said shaft. Tubes 13 are mounted in said crosshead so as to eXtend diametrically with respect to said shaft, the internal passage 15 of each tube communicating through one of the aforesaid passages 11 with the passage 9 in the said shaft, and a plug or diaphragm 14 is interposed between the internal passage '15 of each tube 13 and the correspondingpassage 11, said plug or diaphragm 111 being of porous or pervious material, such as leather, porous earthenware, etc., so as to permit of the flow of liquid from passages 11 to passage 15 through capillary openings which ensure uniform slow move- Serial No. 420,583.

ment and restrain or retard the movement of the liquid, as hereinafter described.

fr similar plug or diaphragm 16 is provided :it the outer end of each tube 13, restraining the movement of the liquid, or fluid medium, from the tubes. A discharge nozzleli' may be provided at the outer end of each tube 13 for conducting the discharged liquid to an outlet trough 18 commimic-ating with an outlet passage 19. Passages 15S ronstitute expansion chambers wherein the liquid is evaporated as hereinafter explained. Partition means 21 and Q9 may be provided on the stationary and rotary parts 1 and. 13, respectively, to retain the air to be cooled in contact with gnirts 13. Casing 1 may be provided with heat ii'lsulating means 23.

rllhe operation is as follows:

VV-ater, or other liquid, is allowed to flow frein the inlet 1() through passages 9, 11 and 15 in the shaft 5, and parts 12 and 13, and the rotary member is then set in rapid rotation by driving means S, so as to cause centrifugal action to be exerted on ythe liquid in. the expansion chamber 15 with the result that such liquid tends to move outwardly through the porous plugs 15 and 16. rllhe centrifugal effect at the outer plugs is, however, greater than at the inner plug, with the result that the liquid tends to move out of the expansion chamber through plug 16 faster than it runs in through plug 141-, and the body of liquid is thereby disrupted and separated into two columns, one within the passages 9 and 11, and the other within nozzle 17 and extending inwardly through lug 16 and into expansion chamber 15. lililhen the centrifugal action on the last named body of liquid just balances the difference between atmospheric pressure and `whatever vapor tension may exist in the eXn pansion chamber 15, equilibrium will be attained, and for any given speed of the rotary member within certain limits there is a certain length of tl e column of liquid constituted by the last named body of liquid within and adjacent to the outer porous plug 16, which by its centrifugal action will present the requisite balance. Under these conditions the liquid. will liow gradually through the inner porous plug 141 and will be continuously evaporated at the inner surface thereof, and then recondensed as it reaches the outer column of liquid adjacent the outer plug 16, such recondensation being due to the increase oi' pressure resulting from the centrifugal action on the body of vapor in the expansion chamber 15. By making' the plugs 1li and 16 suihciently close grained or restraining' in action the amount of liquid supplied at the outer surface of the inner plug may be suiiiciently small to enable substantially complete evaporation of the liquid as it reaches such surfaces; any excess of liquid supplied in this manner Will iiovv outwardly throughy expansion chamber 15 and pass out through the nozzle lalong with the liquid condensed as aforesaid. The continuous evaporation or' the liquid in the expansion chamber 15 causes absorption of heat due to the latent heat of the liquid, thereby cooling the tubes 13 and eventually cooling; the body ot gas, or other medium, Which is passed through the casing 1 by inlet and outlet means 2 and Such cooling action will be restricted to the inner portions of tubes 13 adiacent to the evaporating surfaces aforesaid. In order to conserve the resulting cooling action the partition means 21 and 22 and heat insulating means 23 may be provided, as aforesaid.

iVhat l Claim is:

1. The process of refrigeration which consists in revolving an expansion chamber which extends radially with respect to the center of revolution, admitting' an expansionable medium through a porous body to the inner end oit said expansion chamber, and withdrawing` such medium from said chamber through a porous body at the outer end of said chamber7 the medium being` subjected to expansion and consequent coolingby reason of the greater centrifugal force at the outer end o't' said chamber as compared with that at the inner end thereof.

2. A refrigerating apparatus comprising a rotary member provided with a radially extending` expansion chamber having porous plugs at its inner and outer end, inlet means for supplviua' liquid to the chamber through said inner porous plug, and outlet means for discharging liquid from the outer porous plug7 the construction beingY such that the liquid is forced through the plugs by centrifugal action, which is greater at the outer plug` than at the inner plug;7 so as to effect expansion oit' the liquid in the expansion chamber.

A refrigerating` apparatus comprising a rotary member provided with a radially extending expansion chamber having` inlet means for supplying liquid to the inner portion olf said expansion chamber, a porous member at said inlet means for restraining saitsupplj/,r9 said. expansion chamber being provided with an outlet at its outer end and porous body at said outlet through which the eiiiuent Jrem 'the chamber' passes, and means 'for rotating` said rotary member at a high speed to produce centrifugal action on the liquid. therein so as to cause evaporation oi? such liquid as it passes through said restraining means into said expansion chamber.

4i. A refrigerating apparatus'comprising a shaft, provided with means for rotation thereo't', a tubular member extending radially from said shaft, said tubular member being provided at its inner end with means tor supplying; liquid thereto and at its outer end with. means it'or nischai'n'ing liquid, and restraining); means consistingi` of porous plugins at the inner and outer ends of said tubular member ior controlling` the movement oitx liquid therethrough.

ln testimony ivhereo't i. have hereunto subscribed iny name this 14th day ot October,

ALFRED C. STE'WART. 

